An example of a UI/UX fail: Google Maps' shake-to-report-a-problem feature

I love Google Maps. I use it all the time. It can be a little annoying when you get a Google Maps link and can’t get it in the app, but things are getting better in terms of bridging that gap. But, there is one huge problem with the app, and it’s driving me crazy — Google’s shake-to-report-a-problem feature.

Here’s typically what happens when I use Google Maps on my iPhone. I take a look at where I want to go. Then I walk, and as I walk my arm swings, and so the app thinks I am “shaking” it, and it vibrates and brings up its menu, which prompts me to look at my phone because I think I have a message. Then I think “damn, that feature again.” And I repeat this process like ten times.

I wish I could just train myself not to be bothered by it, but I can’t. It’s a huge design fail — a great idea that wasn’t tested for real world use. And, what makes it worse is that Google is usually so good at this stuff. Their new Material Design concept is great, but this one little failed feature, which is a running thread in all their apps since this design update, annoys me to no end. I’ve actually used it to report my problem to them, which is it.

To make things worse, the other day I was in the Gmail app, wrote a long email, and somehow I accidentally selected the text and typed something, so it all disappeared. “No problem”, I thought, and shook my phone to undo, which is a thing on iOS. Unfortunately, the Gmail also uses this shake-to-report-a-problem feature, and thus it popped up, suppressing the normal iOS undo dialog. The result: I lost my email.